Cold bees are not terrible
In a large cluster of bees (and in the winter club of a strong family there are 30-35 thousand insects, and their density is very high) it is quite easy for them to create the heat necessary for life and support it without much effort.
The accumulation of insects, densely covered with hairs, is a large hairy tangle. A hairline, as you know, very well retains heat.
Between the innumerable hairs on the body of bees is enclosed a mass of air bubbles that retain heat in the club and prevent the penetration of cold into it. In addition, the air is in the cells of honeycombs on which bees are sitting. It also contributes to the preservation of heat. Consequently, it is not by chance that bees are knocked together in honey-free cells.
The club of bees is spherical. A ball in comparison with other geometric figures has the smallest area of contact with the medium. Hence, it loses less heat. The club does not remain constant. It can decrease or increase in volume, thicken or, on the contrary, grow loose. In severe frosts, the temperature of the outside air, in the hollow of a tree and in a hive, is almost the same. In the frosts the club thickens, it becomes smaller. The bees cling closely to each other. They form a protective shell. It prevents the penetration of cold in the center of the club.
With warming, the club expands and occupies a larger area, the thickness of the protective layer can be reduced to 2 cm. As a result of such a pulsation of the winter club, which is produced by the bees as a reaction to the cold, the temperature within the range of 14-15 њ C, which are the strength and duration of frost. From the center of the club the heat spreads to its outskirts.
In addition, the frozen bees of the periphery squeeze into the middle, where it is warmer, and in their place come others who have warmed up. As we see, the mechanism of heat regulation in
In the center of the club the bees are not as dense as on its surface, and are able to move. Due to motor activity and friction, which is unavoidable in the accumulation of insects, they raise the temperature when it falls below the norm. Even in stationary bees, the temperature can rise due to a peculiar tremor. And since the body of the bee has a high thermal conductivity, the heat from the heat center, as from the stove, spreads throughout the club.
The heat loss of the club to the environment is reduced with its compaction. Numerous studies have established that the positive temperatures of the bee are maintained only inside the club and on its surface. They do not even try to warm up their dwelling. This they would not have succeeded, because it is very large. It’s like if a person decided in the winter not to heat a house, but a street. Near the club in the hive or in the hollow can be any low temperature and everything is covered with hoarfrost, but in the club is always warm.
As you can see, the bees are not afraid of frosts. They do not say in vain: “Not bees are afraid of frosts, but beekeepers.” Many shelter bees in winterers, undergrounds, various warm rooms only because they underestimate the natural capacity of bees to withstand low temperatures. On the contrary, bees in winter are much heavier tolerated by plus temperatures and stuffiness, which are often created in unsuitable casual rooms in winter, thaw and closer to spring.
The bees, who have been stuffy in the winter, do not come in the spring; cheerful, active and efficient, like wintering on; will. Their families grow worse, swarm more and often get sick. Probably, bees are useful and necessary for freezing, hardening by cold. Scientists-beekeepers have not yet proved this, but practice; have long been convinced of the beneficial effects on bees of cold. Perhaps, the whole matter lies in the strength of the family, in the number of its members. In strong families, bees are enough to produce heat, and to save it. The heat loss of a large community is easily restored. A weak, small family, on the contrary, is forced to allocate more bees to create a protective layer of the club than to produce heat. This smaller part of the family has to work with the overstrain of forces. Therefore, a weak family significantly wears out during the wintering period, and by spring it is weakening. In it, many bees die. That’s why we must let strong families go to winter.
It used to be believed that the thicker the hives, the warmer the bees in winter. However, it is now established that the hive is only an external protection, the thickness of the walls does not affect the temperature of the nest. Many beekeepers began making beehives from boards 20-25 mm thick, almost twice as thin and lighter as they used to be. They warm up faster with the autumn and spring sun and promote the flying of bees, and on warm winter days favor the movement of the club to honey combs. In thick hives, on the contrary, it is colder when warming than on the street.
Bees are more difficult to bear winds than frosts. If their home is blown, the club quickly and more loses heat, it means it spends more energy for its production. It is no accident that apiaries are placed in gardens, under the protection of trees and shrubs behind houses, under the cover of mountains and small hills. It’s quieter here. And if this is not the case, the hives are wrapped by the winds from the winds, leaving the tapes open and falling asleep with snow. Over time, free space forms between the walls of the hives and the snow from the heat that bees stand out. This air envelope reduces the effect of sharp temperature fluctuations of the outside air and favors wintering.
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)Cold bees are not terrible